8 Steps To An Organized Financial Life

Lack of organization can harm your finances as much or more than being short on cash. Losing bills can lead to late fees, and not keeping track of your bank account could cause overdraft fees. The following are some tips that will help you stay on top of your bills and accounts, and will lead to greater organization and, most importantly, less spending.

Pull Out Your Budget at Least Once Per MonthYour bills could change on a monthly basis. Revise your budget as bills come in and adjust other expenses to make up for it, so you don't accidentally overdraw your bank account. For instance, some months and seasons bring higher electrical bills than others. Let's say your electric bill is a $100 more in June than it was in May. Your budget may be based on spring electricity usage or the usage from a month where you had a lower electric bill. Since June's electric bill signals a change in expenses, you take out your monthly budget to see what other area of your budget you could adjust so you can pay your electric bill.

To save $100, you exchange two dinners out for a bike ride with a packed lunch. You might also grab self-made or deli-made sandwiches to bring to a concert in the park instead of going out for pricey drinks. The best part about having to cut down on one expense to pay for another is it will force you to break traditions and try something different.

What if you don't have a budget? Create one today! Start by writing down your budget the way you'd like your expenses to unfold. At the end of the month, start tweaking your budget by adjusting other expenses when one expense is more than you expected. (For more budgeting tips, check out Get Your Budget Into Fighting Shape and 6 Months To A Better Budget.)

Use Financial SoftwareFinancial software isn't just for investments. You can find free, scaled-down financial software on the web to help you keep track of your daily expenses. Within the programs, you can get detailed information as to where your money is actually going. When choosing budgeting software, verify on the Better Business Bureau website that the service you consider has good customer service records.

Have One Place for BillsEven if most of your bills arrive electronically, you still need a place for bills that come by mail. Why would you have bills show up by mail? Homeowners may not get property tax or homeowners insurance bills electronically because these bills are paid on an annual basis.

For storage, keep your bills wherever you normally write checks or pay bills online. Throw out bills once they are paid, preferably after shredding them for privacy and identity theft protection.

You can also keep scanned copies in your computer. If you don't like filing bills by hand, scan them and save a copy in file format. Give the file a name that says exactly what the bill is and keep all bills in a file labeled bills.

Open Bills and Pay Them the Same Day You Receive ThemIf you have money available in your bank account and you don't have other debit card or bill pay charges coming through that could cause an overdraft, pay your bills the same day they are received.

Pay extra attention to paper bills that normally come electronically. You don't want to pay a bill twice because you received a duplicate by mail. Always call your creditor when a paper bill arrives when you think you have an automatic payment scheduled or electronic billing set up. (For more, see Automating Your Bill Payments.)

Have a Checklist for Bills You Are ExpectingNeither mail nor email is perfect. Create a checklist at the beginning of the month with every bill you are expecting. You can keep it on your desk, bill paying area or create a file on your computer.

Consult with Anyone with Whom You Share AccountsWhether it's your spouse, significant other or relative, you can easily bounce a check or debit card payment if you don't know how much the other has been spending.

Example: Your spouse has the day off and decides to go to lunch and golfing with a buddy. When you get home, you're told about a great game of golf. What you're not told is the $150 spent amidst day-off festivities. You end up bouncing a direct-debited student loan payment because your bank account had $100 less in it than you thought. (To learn more, see Teaching Your Partner About Household Finances.)

Verify that Your Paycheck is Direct Deposited If you have direct deposit, you get used to your paycheck being there on paydays. However,sometimes your check may not arrive electronically on the correct date. Don't start spending your paycheck until you've checked your account balance.

Have Two Bank AccountsUse one account for spending. Use one for bills. This way you can prevent yourself from accidentally spending bill money on a night out that should have gone towards rent.

ConclusionMissing bill payments because of lack of organization is the easiest financial problem to fix. You don't have to use all eight of these tips, as long as you pick an organizational system that you can stick to every month.